Perspective: MISO, Markets, and Common Sense

Wisconsinites don't fear 'Day 2.' But let's get the grid rights right.

The cost of rushing into poorly designed LMP-based energy markets may far exceed any purported cost increases attributable to any future delayed start-up date for certain portions of the MISO region.
Byline: 

Robert M. Garvin

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Integrating Coal and Wind

Strange bedfellows may provide a new supply option.

Joint coal-wind development is not a good greenhouse gas reduction strategy. If carbon limits are imposed on the U.S. electric sector at some future date, nuclear power may be the only viable option for satisfying the country's growing appetite for electricity.
Byline: 

Brandon Owens

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Letters to the Editor

Virginia SCC

The Virginia SCC clarifies factual inaccuracies in January 2004’s columns "Frontlines" and "Commission Watch: Grid Battle Is Joined."
Byline: 

William H. Chambliss

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People

People for March 2004.

Positions filled at Allegheny Energy, Constellation NewEnergy, Xcel Energy, and others.
Byline: 

PUF

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Frontlines: Still More Blackouts?

Do-nothing regulators scare off investment, raising prospects for yet another large-scale power failure.

Let's hope the industry spends the money before Mother Nature throws her next pop quiz.
Byline: 

Richard Stavros

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Payable on Demand

Utilities are finding strategic benefits in demand-based metering technologies.

New metering dramatically expands utilities’ data-handling requirements. Stepping up internal facilities for analyzing this data lets utilities experiment with different price signals and incentives. By gauging the effect on overall load and on grid constraints, utilities can maximize the return on existing transmission assets and reduce the need for new investment. Just as important, utilities can use the new data to develop regulated and competitive products for specific customer niches. This is more than a profit opportunity. It is also part of a utility’s public obligation.
Byline: 

Guerry Waters

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The Talent Bubble

As Baby Boomers near retirement age, utilities face the challenge of preparing the next generation of leaders.

Many utilities are sounding alarm bells about an impending shortage of skilled personnel—even amid flat industry growth and high unemployment rates. Who will replace the retiring Baby Boomers?
Byline: 

Michael T. Burr

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Plants for Sale: Pricing the New Wave

Financial players and load-serving utilities are looking for power asset deals.

Approximately 60 generation asset sales have been announced in the past two years, and future transaction activity is likely to accelerate. Who are the players, and where might the available plants be located?
Byline: 

David Haarmeyer, Mark Griffith, and Grant Thain

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European Infrastructure: Billions Needed in Investment

Electricity demand in parts of Europe is on the rise.

A legal and institutional regulatory framework for the EU should spur significant infrastructure investment in the region—if 15 countries can find a way to harmonize their regulatory regimes.
Byline: 

Branko Terzic and Thomas J. Flaherty

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Europe Rewired: A Giant Awakens

EU nations are taking slow steps toward an integrated energy market, but they are many paces ahead of U.S. efforts.

The emerging EU energy market faces barriers to competition and regional integration, exacerbated by the exodus of American companies from the market and the heightened trend toward oligopoly control. Nevertheless, European integration is moving at a faster pace than American initiatives.
Byline: 

Arthur J. O'Donnell

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